Offshore moorings

ABSTRACT

An offshore mooring for a boat is disclosed that has a mooring anchor at the mooring site provided with an underwater sheave. A line is trained about the sheave to provide courses to the first of which an underwater buoy is attached and with both of which extending to a landing site. The boat is detachably attached to a floating buoy which is connected to the underwater buoy. Both courses extend under water close together between the sites and the boat and the floating buoy may be pulled in to the landing site by pulling in the first course or hauled out to the mooring site by a pull on the second course. At the landing site, the two courses are trained about underwater sheaves and are trained in opposite directions about and secured to the drum of a windlass.

United States Patent Fleming 1 Oct. 1, 1974 OFFSHORE MOORINGS I [76] Inventor: Howard B. Fleming, 89 Pleasant 'f' Exam",1er Gerge Halvosa' Ave South Portland, Maine 04100 Assistant Examiner-Edward R. Kazenske 22 Filed: Dec. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 314,595 [57] ABSTRACT [52] U S Cl 114/230 1 15 114/206 R An offshore mooring for a boat is disclosed that has a 104/183 mooring anchor at the mooring site provided with an [51] Int cl. B63) 21/16 underwater sheave. A line is trained about the sheave [58] Field 5 B 206 to provide courses to the first of which an underwater 115/7. lo4ll73 183 l1 buoy is attached and with both of which extending to a landing site. The boat is detachably attached to a floating buoy which is connected to the underwater [56] References Cited buoy. Both courses extend under water close together between the sites and the boat and the floating buoy UNITED STTES PATENTS may be pulled in to the landing site by pulling in the 632,238 9/1899 Chrlstensen 114/230 fi t ur e hauled out to the mooring site by a pull 2,581,676 1/1952 Loaney 114/230 on the Second course. At the landing Site, the two $291 courses are trained about underwater sheaves and are 3338180 8/1967 i l tfi 104/173 trained in opposite directions about and secured to the 3,589,299 6/1971 Ingram 104/114 drum Ofa wmdlassv FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Great Britain 114/230 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 OFFSHORE MOORINGS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The offshore mooring of boats is often required or preferred to tieing them to a wharf.

When a boat is moored offshore, it is either necessary to reach it by using a smaller boat or by employing that typeof mooring in which an anchored float has a five aboufwhich is trained a line with both courses reaching thewharf. The boat is detachably connected to one course so that by pulling that course in an inshore direction, the boat may be drawn to the wharf and there detached for use. After use, the boat is again attached to that same course at the wharf and when the other course is pulled in an inshore direction, the boat is hauled offshore to its mooring site.

While such offshore moorings enable a boat to be used with the convenience that it may beloaded and unloaded at the wharf, it has the objectionable features that the float remains in position offshore and the lines are at or sufficiently near the surface of the water to be in the way of boats or swimmers crossing the path between the wharf and the offshore buoy.

THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention eliminates the problems of a mooring float remaining offshore when a boat is no longer at its mooring site and lines that extend between landing and mooring sites with one or both courses at or near the surface of the water at least when the boat is at the mooring site.

In accordance with the invention this objective is attained with a mooring anchor having a sheave about which the line is trained and which is located close to the bottom. The line has a connector fixed on one course with an underwater buoy connected thereto and to a floating buoy to which the boat is detachably secured. The mooring anchor has a stop arranged and disposed to be engaged by the connector when the boat reaches the mooring site. Both courses of the line extend close to the bottom between the site's.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a connector and stop combination in which the connector is also held against vertical or lateral movements in response to the upward pull of the underwater buoy or pulls to which it is subjected by the moored boat.

Yet another objective is to provide the mooring anchor with a post which serves as a pivot for a head rotatably supporting the sheave of the mooring anchor and the stop, preferably with the axis of the sheave transversely of the path between the mooring and landing sites.

Another objective of the invention is to provide structures attachable to a wharf provided with a windlass for use and sheaves, one for each rope course and about which the courses extend, the sheaves being located adjacent the bottom and the line courses being trained in opposite directions about the drum of the windlass and secured thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4 is a like view of the underwater buoy and its connections with the cable; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the windlass.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION In the drawings, a landing site at the shore of a river, lake, or ocean is represented by the wharf l0 and the offshore mooring site for the boat 11 is established by the mooring anchor generally indicated at 12 and best seen in FIG. 3.

The mooring anchor 12 is shown as having a cruciform base 13, each arm of whichhas a depending rib l4, and a central post 15 provided with an eye 16 at its upper end for use when the mooring anchor is lowered into position or when it is to be removed. The post 15 is a pivotal support for a head shown as having a pair of parallel side walls 17 interconnected by a postencircling portion 17A rotatably seated on a ring 18 welded to the post 15. A sheave 19 between the side walls 17 is rotatably supported thereby with its axis transversely thereof. The free ends of the side walls 17 are interconnected by a bridge 20 forwardly of and above the sheave 19. The bridge 20 has an openended slot 21 in a plane inclusive of the groove of the sheave l9 and has upwardly angled wings 22 extending away from the post 15 with their proximate edges inclined outwardly away from each other to provide the slot 21 with a laterally flared mouth 21A. A windlass, generally indicated at 23 is mounted on the upper end of a frame 24 provided with vertically disposed side rods 25 of such length that, with the windlass located above the wharf 10, their lower ends can be forced into the bottom and they slidably support keepers 26 that are secured to the wharf 10. The frame 24 has mounts 27 at its lower end for an axle 28 carrying independently rotatable sheaves 29 and 30 and the frame is of sufficient length that the sheaves 29 and 30 are close to the bottom.

A line 31, a rope'or cable, is trained about the sheave 19 with one end trained about the sheave 29 and secured to the drum 32 of the windlass 23 to provide a first course. The other end of the line 31 is trained about the sheave 30 and secured to the windlass drum 32 to provide a second course, the ends of the line 31 being oppositely trained about the drum 32 so that as it is turned in either direction as by means of the crank 33, one course is drawn inshore and the other rope course is pulled in an offshore direction. It will be appreciated that once the mooring anchor 12 is in place and the line 31 is thus extended to the wharf l0 and secured, the anchor head is swung thereby into a position in which it is aimed towards the landing site if not so oriented when'the mooring anchor 12 was lowered to the bottom.

A connector 34, clamped to one course of the line 31 has a lengthwise rib 35 to which a ring 36 is pivotally connected with its pivot axis transversely of said course. An underwater buoy 37 has a rod 38 extending vertically through it with its upper and lower ends having rings 40 and 41, respectively, pivotally connected thereto. The ring 41 is caught by the ring 36 while the ring 40 is caught by a ring 42A at the end of a chain 42.

The other end of the chain 42 is attached to a floating buoy 43 provided with a chain 44 attached to the boat 1 1.

It will be apparent that, as the drum of the Windlass is turned in one direction or the other, one course is pulled in and the other pulled in an ofishore direction. Assuming that the Windlass 23 is operated to pull the course to which the boat 11 is attached in an offshore direction by pulling the other course inwardly, it will be apparent that the connector 34 becomes caught under the bridge 20 with the rib 35 extending upwardly therethrough and with the closed end of its slot 21 serving as a stop engageable thereby to prevent further travel of the connector 34 in an offshore direction. It will be appreciated that the length of the chain 42 depends on the location of the mooring as ocean installtions re-' quire chain lengths adequate for the maximum tide height to ensure that the buoy floats.

In any event, once the connector 34 is caught under the bridge 20, the boat 11 is securely moored and when the Windlass 23 is operated to pull the other course inwardly, the boat 11 is hauled to the wharf 10 where it may be boarded or loaded with ease and the boat used with the floating buoy 43 remaining at the wharf. Both courses of the line 30 are under water close to the bottom until they pass about the sheaves 30 and 31 thus permitting full use of the water between the wharf l and the mooring site.

I claim:

1. An offshore mooring device for location at a moor- 30 ing site which is spaced from a selected landing site, said mooring device comprising an underwater mooring anchor including an underwater sheave, a line trained about said sheave to provide first and second courses extending to the landing site, a buoy to which a boat is to be detachably secured, and a flexible connection between said buoy and said first course and of sufficient length to enable said buoy to float on the surface at said mooring site, said first and second courses both being under water and close together between 40 said sites but above the water at the landing site, the boat being hauled offshore to the mooring site when the second course is pulled towards the landing site and the boat being pulled inshore when the first course is pulled towards the landing site, and said mooring anchor and said flexible connection each include a stop portion, said stop portions are interengageable to provide a stop when the boat reaches the mooring site but before the stop portion on the flexible connection engages the sheave, said stop portions inlcude parts that are slidably engaged as the stop portion of the mooring anchor and the flexible connection become engaged and when engaged operable to transmit the effect of any substantial pull on the flexible connection directly to the mooring anchor, said stop portion of said mooring anchor is located on the inshore side of the sheave, and the flexible connection including an underwater float above but close to the stop portion thereof.

2. The offshore mooring of claim 1 in which the axis of rotation of the sheave is transversely of the courses.

3. The offshore mooring of claim 1 in which the mooring anchor includes a supporting base, a post, and a head to which the sheave is rotatably connected and which is rotatably supported by the post, said head including the stop portion of the mooring anchor, said stop portion located fowardly and above the sheave and said first course and having an open-ended slot, the open end directed towards the landing site, and the flexible connection includes a connector secured to said first course, said connector including the stop portion of the flexible connection and provided with a part dimensioned to be slidable in the slot into contact with the closed end thereof, and a subjacent part wider than said slot and underlying the stop portion of the head when the boat is at the mooring site.

4. The offshore mooring of claim 3 in which the open end of the slot is laterally flared.

5. The offshore mooring of claim 3 in which the stop portion of the mooring anchor includes a pair of laterally spaced wings upwardly inclined towards the landing site and the proximate edges of the wings are inclined outwardly away from each other to provide the slot with a flared mouth. 

1. An offshore mooring device for location at a mooring site which is spaced from a selected landing site, said mooring device comprising an underwater mooring anchor including an underwater sheave, a line trained about said sheave to provide first and second courses extending to the landing site, a buoy to which a boat is to be detachably secured, and a flexible connection between said buoy and said first course and of sufficient length to enable said buoy to float on the surface at said mooring site, said first and second courses both being under water and close together between said sites but above the water at the landing site, the boat being hauled offshore to the mooring site when the second course is pulled towards the landing site and the boat being pulled inshore when the first course is pulled towards the landing site, and said mooring anchor and said flexible connection each include a stop portion, said stop portions are interengageable to provide a stop when the boat reaches the mooring site but before the stop portion of the flexible connection engages the sheave, said stop portions inlcude parts that are slidably engaged as the stop portion of the mooring anchor and the flexible connection become engaged and when engaged operable to transmit the effect of any substantial pull on the flexible connection directly to the mooring anchor, said stop portion of said mooring anchor is located on the inshore side of the sheave, and the flexible connection including an underwater float above but close to the stop portion thereof.
 2. The offshore mooring of claim 1 in which the axis of rotation of the sheave is transversely of the courses.
 3. The offshore mooring of claim 1 in which the mooring anchor includes a supporting base, a post, and a head to which the sheave is rotatably connected and which is rotatably supported by the post, said head including the stop portion of the mooring anchor, said stop portion located fowardly and above the sheave and said first course and having an open-ended slot, the open end directed towards the landing site, and the flexible connection includes a connector secured to said first course, said connector including the stop portion of the flexible connection and provided with a part dimensioned to be slidable in the slot into contact with the closed end thereof, and a subjacent part wider than said slot and underlying the stop portion of the head when the boat is at the mooring site.
 4. The offshore mooring of claim 3 in which the open end of the slot is laterally flared.
 5. The offshore mooring of claim 3 in which the stop portion of the mooring anchor includes a pair of laterally spaced wings upwardly inclined towards the landing site and the proximate edges of the wings are inclined outwardly away from each other to provide the slot with a flared mouth. 